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=**2012-2013** **Laurel Mountain Ecology Club**= Amy Hines amyehines@yahoo.com


 * // We will meet most Fridays, with a few exceptions based on school session/holidays and school-wide events. //**

Laurel Mountain Ecology Club is a year-long club for grades 2-5, meeting most Fridays after school until 4:00p.m. Highlights include: Visits to our own greenbelt/preserve, school Carnival, Earth Day, Pride Night, grounds cleanup, field trips, guest speakers, and hands-on activities. Check out the links at the bottom of the page for interesting and related topics or activities.


 * Calendar and Curriculum: **
 * Ecology Club Calendar 2012-2013 **


 * // *Speaker Dates and Field Trip Dates are not finalized. //**

All about BATS in Central Texas. See BCI's website: [] 10/5: Visit the Preserve at school. 10/12: Learn about sustainable landscaping and certified wildlife habitats. http://www.austintexas.gov/department/grow-green http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx 10/19: Field Trip to The Natural Gardener (cancelled) 10/26: Speaker from Bat Conservation International 10/20 OR 10/27: Possible family trip to Congress Bridge to view bats at dusk. Park at Austin American Statesman. (cancelled due to bad weather)
 * __October: Bats ; Natural Gardening and Wildlife__**

11/2: Help prepare for Carnival - make signs for recycling and set prepare bins; Talk about waste and recycling. Watch Ecology Action's video about Circle Acres. 11/9: Field trip to Ecology Action 11/16: “America Recycles Day”; Hands-on activity 11/30: Speaker from Habitat for Humanity (possible)
 * __November: Recycling__**

12/7: Speaker from City of Austin 12/14: energy hands-on activity
 * __December: Sustainability and Energy__**

1/11: 1/18: 1/25:
 * __January: Habitats, Environment and Animals__**

2/8: Mr. Hance shows us animals and habitats in Preserve. Explore outdoors for signs of Spring. 2/15: Visit Preserve and help move mulch with Mr. Hance. 2/22: Speaker about weather/climates from LCRA Wilkerson Center
 * __February: Earth's Water Systems__**

3/1: Canceled. 3/22: World Water Day.
 * __March: Water, Wastewater and Wetland Habitats__**

4/5: Prepare displays for Pride Night, showcasing what we’ve learned in Ecology Club, making tri-folds or other types of display. Pride Night Setup before club lets out. 4/12: Visit Preserve. 4/19: Celebrate Earth Day (recognized on Monday, 4/22). 4/26: Wild Basin Field Trip - //tentative//
 * __April: Pride Night and Earth Day__**

5/1: **//Wednesday Early Release - field trip to Barton Springs- tentative//** 5/10: Field Trip to Texas Memorial Museum - //tentative// 5/17: Mr.Hance about green and sustainable houses. Learn about "green jobs" of the now and future. 5/24: End of Year Party.
 * __May: Green Homes, Green Cities, Green Jobs__**


 * __*Family Events:__** Trip to Wild Basin daytime, or make it a night-time star-gazing event, led by the preserve. Trip to Congress Bridge in downtown Austin, with picnic and friends. E-Cycling event. Earth Day tree-planting.

Links: http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Schoolyard-Habitats.aspx http://www.hornsbybend.org/ http://www.batcon.org/ http://americarecyclesday.org/ http://www.ecology-action.org/circle-acres http://www.austintexas.gov/austingrows http://www.wildflower.org/